Talya Ten Brink

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has included human dimensions in its science and advice selectively and implicitly throughout its history, but formal recognition of social science and humanities as a core research theme only emerged in 2015. This paper examines the circuitous path of how and why ICES evolved towards including human dimensions research. Drawing on key milestones and critical turning points, we identify the drivers that have advanced interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to fisheries and marine science, as well as the persistent barriers that continue to constrain progress. These barriers include effectively implementing integrated ecosystem-based management science and advice; organizational resistance; awareness, and appropriate use of social sciences; capacity in terms of experts, funding and data; and paradoxes surrounding stakeholder, Indigenous, and rightsholder participation. A self-reinforcing dynamic persists: where human dimensions research is not routinely expected, it is rarely requested; where it is not requested, it is rarely included. Consequently, the ICES advisory system continues to reproduce the very conditions that still keep human dimensions research at the margins. We argue that the challenge is no longer simply to add a human dimension layer to existing science, but to rethink how ICES defines problems and explores solutions, whose knowledge counts, and how experts from different disciplinary and practitioner backgrounds can collaborate to shape just and responsible futures for people and the sea. Fully integrating human dimensions research requires broadening the prevailing scientific paradigm to situate advice within social, cultural, economic, and political realities, and to recognize uncertainty as an inherent feature of coupled social-ecological systems. Such a shift would enable ICES to routinely evaluate management measures across all three pillars of sustainability, providing a more comprehensive evidence base for assessing policy options and their consequences. In doing so, ICES would strengthen its capacity to deliver robust, policy-relevant advice and reinforce its leadership in addressing contemporary fisheries and marine science challenges.

Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects are common and desired by many institutions and research teams, there are still relatively few success stories of AI in practical use for the Earth science community. Many AI practitioners in Earth science are trapped in the prototyping stage and their results have not yet been adopted by users. Many scientists are still hesitating to use AI in their research routine. This paper aims to capture the landscape of AI-powered geospatial data sciences by discussing the current and upcoming needs of the Earth and environmental community, such as what practical AI should look like, how to realize practical AI based on the current technical and data restrictions, and the expected outcome of AI projects and their long-term benefits and problems. This paper also discusses unavoidable changes in the near future concerning AI, such as the fast evolution of AI foundation models and AI laws, and how the Earth and environmental community should adapt to these changes. This paper provides an important reference to the geospatial data science community to adjust their research road maps, find best practices, boost the FAIRness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) aspects of AI research, and reasonably allocate human and computational resources to increase the practicality and efficiency of Earth AI research.

While recreational fishers recognize the many benefits of their practice, there is less recognition of these benefits by decision-makers in natural resource management. Fisheries motivations and benefits have not been sufficiently captured in urban and urban/suburban interface (urban fringe) areas. To help address this gap, this work captures fisheries motivations and benefits in the urban fringe of Rhode Island using a place meaning methodology. In-person interviews were conducted in Spanish and English with anglers who use public access sites in the urban fringe near Providence, Rhode Island. This area was found to support diverse users with needs for access, suitable water quality, and safety. Mental and physical health benefits were also found. The results inform fisheries management and landscape planning via a greater understanding of the conceptualization of coastal spaces and suggestions for future attributes of coastal spaces. Future directions to explore include the relationship between place meanings and well-being, the relationship between place meanings and fishing motivations, and gathering place meanings across diverse users and locations. Understanding recreational fishing motivations and benefits in the urban fringe informs fisheries and coastal management decision-making under potential landscape changes or fishery stock decline.

Fisheries independent surveys require rethinking because of increasing spatial restrictions and interactions with offshore wind energy development (OWD). Fisheries, protected species, and environmental data collections have been conducted by scientific institutions to meet societal demands for food security, conservation, and other marine uses. These data collections provide information on key resource measures, essential for fisheries, protected species, and ecosystem management. With the increase in pace and magnitude of OWD's industrialization of marine waters, disruptions in these long-term time series can be expected. These disruptions will impact the ability to support current and future management goals and objectives. This paper presents an expert survey on the perceptions of OWD interactions with common survey designs and survey methodologies in Europe and the U.S., along with a selected sample of 75 fisheries independent surveys in the U.S. and Europe providing an initial assessment and description of potential impacts from OWD. About 72% of the surveys sampled record interactions with operational, planned or future OWD. Four case studies demonstrate efforts to address these interactions within European regions that have operational OWD and the U.S. where development has just begun. Finally, we make recommendations for future research important to continue meaningful scientific-based management advice.

The importance of the integration of fishers’ experiential knowledge (FEXK) into marine science is increasingly recognized. However, current integration attempts often focus on quantitative observational datasets, missing the unique information acquired by fishers throughout their lifetimes. Despite the potential value of FEXK, best practices around its collection, use, and integration into science, management, and policy have not been fully identified. To address such knowledge gaps, a dedicated session was organized at the 2022 ICES annual science conference, with the aim to build a greater understanding of how FEXK is collected and utilized. Based on presentations and resultant discussions, four best practices were identified: (i) Organize processes for mutual learning about different scientific methodologies. (ii) Acknowledge fishers as expert data providers. (iii) Set up transparent, circular processes with all stakeholders. (iv) Be aware of equity issues around data and fisher participation. These best practices, while being closely connected to ethical principles for participatory research, may just be a starting point in ensuring better integration of FEXK into science and management. However, these outputs should be seen as an important contribution to the ongoing debate about how best to achieve this, reflecting the views of many scientists currently working in this field.

Ten Brink et. al. identified insights from their social-ecological study on the impacts of the first offshore wind farm in North America. They analysed ecological data from demersal fish trawl and lobster surveys and qualitative social science data from commercial and recreational fishermen. They found that challenges include the integration of different types of data, temporal and spatial ranges of data, framing of the studies, and mismatch in fish species targeted. Benefits include more comprehensive capture of impacts and guidance on how to design better biological studies. Early stage collaboration during research design, aligned goals, and comprehensive planning can allow for more integrated data collection and analysis and have relevance to other interdisciplinary studies of marine and fisheries domains.